By Craig Kwasniewski
The battle of the two best coaches is the NBA is so one sided it's time to throw in the towel. Fact: Phil Jackson owns Greg Popovich and it's not even close. Going head-to-head in the playoffs, Jackson is 4-1 against Popovich's Spurs (18-8 if you count all the games).
Beyond the obvious. let's look at two key adjustments (as Greg Anthony revealed on ESPN) Jackson made for Game 5. First, with the Triangle Offence being well-defended by the Spurs in the first half, Jackson went to a high screen and roll with Kobe and Gasol. What this did was bring Tim Duncan away from the hoop giving Kobe an easier path to the rim. The Lakers ran this play the entire 4th quarter and Kobe capitalized with 17 points, closing out the Spurs in the process. True, Kobe is the best closer in the NBA, but a lot had to do with Jackson opening up the lane with this adjustment.
On defense, the Lakers focused on shutting down Manu Ginobili by forcing him to his right and rotating over if he broke freee from his defender. Ginolibli mught have been hurt, but the difference between good and great players is their ability to make a difference in the game DESPITE injuries (like Kobe's back spasms in the Utah series). I think it's safe to say that Manu's good but not great and the Lakers defense had a lot to do with that.
So while the Lakers wait for Boston to eliminate Detroit (sorry Pistons, but you're too broken to advance), Lakers fans can take solace that there are no coaching peers in the NBA for Phil Jackson. Nine NBA titles, 11 NBA Finals appearances... scoreboard!
So yeah....where's the dude who said phil ISN'T the best coach in the NBA now from the Doc Rivers thread..?
I'll thoroughly enjoy Phil making chopped liver out of Doc in the finals!!!!
Posted by: DowJones | May 31, 2008 at 05:15 PM
Phil Jackson owns Gregg Popovich??
Pop vs Phil Era- Spurs 3 rings, Lakers 3 rings. That's all that matters......
Oh not to mention Pop is 3 of 3(100%) in the Finals while Phil is 3 of 4 (75%) And the exact team Phil lost to (Detroit), Pop beat the very next year.
Robert Horry - "If you have given Pop all the talent Phil had, I'd think he'd have more rings than Phil".
Quit being a Homer dude you sound like a typical Laker fan.......
Posted by: Greg | June 02, 2008 at 10:41 PM
i wasn't going to comment on this unecessary and petty post, but in light of new information i feel i must respond.
after hearing about tim donaghy's newest allegations, it looks like phil jackson will have to collect one of those asterisks he is so cavalier about dishing out. even if it's proven not to be true, the stigma will always be there. yoda's spotless record is tarnished. what a jackass. "i don't want to go all the way back there." no, of course you don't.
i remember watching that game in santa cruz with very loud and vocal fans of both teams. i was rooting for the kings (natch) and having a lot of fun until everyone realized something was very wrong. the lakers fans had excuses and called sacramento the "queens", but they knew the game wasn't being called fairly. it was obvious. everyone knew the kings were the better team, but the lakers went to the finals.
craig, weren't you pretty quick to cast dispersions on the spurs when the donaghy scandal first broke? isn't karma a bitch?
Posted by: dave | June 11, 2008 at 06:01 PM
Ahh ofcourse Phil Jackson is the best right now. He will be the best for a while, unless some unknown comes in
Val
http://www.classyselection.com
Posted by: Val | August 06, 2008 at 06:17 PM
Jackson had Jordan and now has Kobe. They were stars before Phil got a hold of them. Popovich had a star in Tim Duncan come to him, but Ginobli and Parker prospered into stars in the Spurs system. You could say Pippen turned into a star, but is there anyone else that Jackon coached? Just look at guys that used to be Spurs- Stephen Jackson, Beno Udrih, Hedo Turkoglu,and Luis Scola. They were all elevated to stardom after they were with the Spurs. BtW Go Spurs Go!
Posted by: Tyrone | December 15, 2008 at 12:19 AM